My current body of work explores Big Bend and our relationship with a landscape that is at once fascinating and ferocious. Nature portraits of the flora native to the Big Bend region explore the biodiversity of the plant-life that is local only to this area of the Trans-Pecos. These paintings are intended to evoke a sense of beauty, while presenting the viewer with a painful duality: the cacti have scintillating colors, yet the spines prevent anyone from getting too close. They represent a region that is endangered, from tourism, drought, industry, and political turmoil; and an invitation to pause and reflect on what a precious resource we have in this landscape and its inhabitants.

-Katrina M Rasmussen